Monday, Sept. 18, 2006 | 7:16 a.m.
Survival as a professional gambler, or living by your wits as a so-called "advantage player," entails putting your money on the line only when you have an edge.
No edge? No bet.
So why would former oddsmaker Nick Bogdanovich and one-name sports bettor Fezzik, two of the sharpest gamblers in Las Vegas, agree to put up $25,000 apiece and square off in a winner-take-all head-to-head handicapping contest?
Neither contestant has an inherent edge, as the prize pool, a flat $50,000, has not been juiced with any promotional money.
Each man respects the other's ability and acknowledges the betting line on the matchup should be about even, or "pick 'em."
And no one would bet on a coin flip except an adrenaline junkie (or maybe that character who supposedly scammed card counter Ken Uston in Atlantic City years ago, according to gambling lore).
Fezzik said he agreed to participate, however, as a sort of professional courtesy to Vic Salerno, the boss of the Leroy's sports book chain, which sponsors the contest.
A few football seasons ago, Fezzik said, he practically swept the board against the point spread at Leroy's one week and had some large betting tickets to cash.
Achieving a big payday at some other Nevada sports books could lead to his action being restricted or cut off, Fezzik said. But not at Leroy's.
"When I had that one big score against Vic, he shook my hand and said, 'Cut him a check,' " Fezzik said. "It was a lot different than dealing with some other sports book directors around town. So I've always had a lot of respect for Vic."
Fezzik also made a five-figure score in Leroy's open-to-the-public college football handicapping contest last year; so thought it was only fair to accept the invitation to compete against Bogdanovich.
The head-to-head challenge is one of two contests that take place each Friday. Fezzik-Bogdanovich airs on KENO 1460-AM from Fitzgeralds downtown in the afternoon, with the Leroy's Money Talks Invitational, a 16-man single-elimination bracket, on KSHP 1400-AM from the Silverton on Friday night.
Bogdanovich won last year's invitational tournament but agreed to face off against Fezzik rather than defend his title after Salerno told him 40 people showed interest in entering the second edition of the Money Talks event this year.
"Leroy's has been good to me," Bogdanovich said Friday at Fitzgeralds. "It was partly out of my friendship with (Salerno) But, yeah, it's a dead gamble. As far as looking at it for value, there is no value there."
So far, both contests have drawn modest live crowds of local sports bettors and some curious tourists. The "Beat Bogdanovich" promotion has been conducted on the second floor of Fitzgeralds; the Friday night invitational at the Silverton takes place in the casino's Shady Grove Lounge, themed by memorabilia related to Hootie & the Blowfish, the '90s soft rockers.
But Leroy's spokesman Jimmy Vaccaro plans to shift both contests into a higher gear, possibly by next season.
Vaccaro envisions jacking up the entry fees and the prize pools for both contests. Last year each of the 16 entrants in the Money Talks contest put up $2,500 to compete; this year, the entry fee increased to $5,000. Leroy's kicked in another $20,000. Those figures could go up again next year, Vaccaro said, and in a head-to-head competition, each entrant might be asked to put up at least $50,000.
Most significantly, Vaccaro is seeking a sponsor to assist in bringing the contests to national television.
"This thing is ready to take off," Vaccaro said. "You don't need a fancy Strip property, as long as you can say it's from Vegas. You get a nice set, dress it up a little bit and it'll take off.
"This is only the beginning."
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